Getting Real

Today we welcome the gregarious Al Doan. Al bootstrapped the Missouri Star Quilt Company to millions in revenue and hundreds of employees. After hiring on a professional CEO, and partially cashing out, he's arrived in what many of us think of as the promised land. However, instead of parties and carefree days, he's surprised to be faced with uncertainty, identify questions, and fear. This is an important episode for any of us hanging our hopes for happiness and contentment on some future material comfort.

In this episode we welcome Chris Bennett. One of San Francisco's most beloved founders, Chris founded Soldsie and scaled the team to over 50 people before realizing they had catastrophic challenges around retention and product-market fit. He shares the story for the first time publicly in this episode. If you've ever dealt with the disappointment of your product not hitting the traction you'd hoped for, and who hasn't, today's episode may speak to you. - Soldsie  https://web.soldsie.com/ - Wonderschool (formerly One Preschool)  https://www.wonderschool.com

"If I'm not out for blood, if I'm not in this war-like mentality, will I ever be successful, like ever?"   On this episode, Tracy Lawrence discusses her experience as first-time founder of Chewse, an enterprise office catering startup. How her eyes were opened to turning her small idea into something bigger, how hustling to run a 2 person company while simultaneously trying to raise VC in LA almost broke her, and how embracing an honest, loving company culture transformed her business.